The present invention relates to lids for use with pails and more specifically to a pail lid or cover having a built-in torquing tool.
Various pails or barrels and similar containers and cover, or lid, assemblies are known in the art. Some pails are utilized to store chemicals or other solutions. Other pails are utilized to store dry goods.
When storing solutions, it is often important to provide a seal between a lid and the wall of the container to prevent spilling and leaking of the solution from the container past the lid. Some stored solutions may have a corrosive effect, or discolor some surfaces upon contact if the solution were to inadvertently spill from a storage container. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,494,674 and 3,897,874 disclose seals between a container member and a lid.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,170,691 and 6,006,942, owned by the owner of the present application, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, address a need in the industry to reduce the amount of strength required to close a lid onto an open lid container by providing a seal which is gradually compressed as a lid is rotatably threaded onto the container member. While these designs are an improvement over the prior art, there remains a need to assist those individuals lacking sufficient strength to open and close lids on containers.
Specifically, if a very strong person applies a large amount of torque to a lid to secure the lid to the container, it may be very difficult for a weaker person to remove the lid from the container. Furthermore, if a lid is not attached to a particular container, even with the improved gradual sealing technique disclosed in the aforesaid other patents of the owner of the present application, it may still be difficult for some weak people to apply a specific amount of torque to the lid to significantly reduce the likelihood of spillage should a sudden surge in pressure occur within the closed container, such as may occur if the container is dropped onto a hard surface. Accordingly, a need exists to provide a means which assists a person in applying torque to a lid.
A number of mechanisms have been devised over the years to provide a handle, or a torquing tool for use with lids, caps, or tops. Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 879,516 shows a hot water bottle with a handle 15 that pivots relative to an extension 13 which is connected to head 11. While this design may be suitable for the application provided in the ""516 patent, the use of an extension with pail lids is not convenient nor desirable. The inclusion of an extension would increase the cost of materials in the lid and would affect the way pails and pail lids are stored. Improvements may be made over this design.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,031,775 shows another top, or screw stopper, for use with cans, drums, jars bottles and other vessels. A handle slidably extends from a slot in the top of the stopper to provide a torquing aid for a user. While a number of advantages are obtained from this design, the construction utilizing the teachings of this design in the form of a pail lid would likely require significant labor and complexity. Accordingly, improvements may be made over this design as well.
Various pivoting handle designs have been utilized for particular containers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,747 shows a handle on a gas can lid which pivots from about the centerline of the lid. U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,526 shows another construction where a handle pivots at the centerline of a cap which may be utilized on a nail polish bottle. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,120,603 and 2,308,217 show somewhat similar constructions for a jar cap having a handle which pivots from an extension located on a top surface of the lid, about half way from the edge of the cap to the center of the cap.
Thus, although numerous attempts have been made to provide a torquing tool as a portion of a cap, none of the prior art construction are believed to be particularly suited for pail covers with the exception of U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,246 with gripping structure formed into a top surface of the lid and U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,647 having a recessed portion in the lid for receiving a paint stir stick. While these designs may be acceptable in some applications, they are not practicable when it is necessary or important to maintain a seal between a lid and a container and for other reasons.
Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide an open top container and lid assembly with the lid having a torquing tool available to assist a user in the attachment and/or detachment of the lid from the container.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a torquing tool which pivots about a pivot point on a ridge of the lid.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a torquing tool which may be stored in an unobstrusive manner when not in use.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a torquing tool which does not interfere with the ability of multiple pails with lids to stack on top of one another.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a lid for an open end container. The lid preferably threadably engages with the open end container to secure the lid to the container and has a seal located between tapered surfaces of the lid and the container member such that compression of the seal occurs gradually as the lid is threadably secured onto the container member.
The lid has a torquing tool which pivots at a ridge at the edge of the lid. In a stored configuration, the torquing tool has a handle which is at least partially contained within a depression or chamber in the lid. A base of the torquing tool has a top surface which is coplanar with a top surface of the lid in the stored configuration. To utilize the torquing tool, the handle is rotated about the pivot, to an extended position. The handle may then assist an operator in twisting the lid relative to the container member.